X-Rite Color Blog

Especially in the print industry, checking color quality at multiple steps along the way is the key to ensuring you’re on the right track. Without color management, you can end up producing something you think is right, but is completely wrong in the end. Managing color in the pressroom closes the gap between expectations, press operators, specifications, and color to ensure good quality.  During design, it means accurately specifying colors for reproduction on the final ...

As brand owners compete to make packaging stand out, commercial and flexible packaging converters and label printers are charged with achieving accurate color – on unique substrates – with shorter print runs. Many spend a lot of time mixing ink, then end up throwing it away when the color isn’t right. Others mix ink, store it, and spend way too much time trying to reuse it for future print runs.  If you’re stuck in this cycle, you’re essentially paying for ink...

To establish a successful quality control program, you need good instrumentation, robust software, and trained users. But even with everything in place, there are some common pitfalls to watch for when using a spectrophotometer to analyze color quality. Measuring plastic parts with the X-Rite Ci7800 benchtop spectrophotometer. Top Five Color Measurement Pitfalls  1. Bad Standards and Samples Physical standards and samples don’t last forever. Careless handling and dirty devices can ...

Whether you’re producing textiles, automotive parts, or plastic pieces, color needs to remain consistent or the final product will be rejected. Unfortunately, there are many ways for color errors to creep in during manufacturing. Creating and using accurate digital color standards is one way to combat these errors. Digital color standards can be used in software to specify and communicate color, formulate colorants and raw materials, and control color quality. They give brand owners peac...

It’s important to ensure design intent is realized each time and everywhere a product appears. But with so many variables to impact print quality, how can brands utilize suppliers around the world and still achieve consistent color? Our X-Rite Pantone Packaging Color Experts have designed a series of consulting services and workshops to help you get the most from your print, packaging, plastic or textile value chain.   Offered both online and onsite, these interactive sessions i...

No matter the industry, our customers are all working toward the same goal: Achieve accurate color and keep production moving. Even in the best conditions, color data can be a challenge to capture and share. COVID-19-related travel bans and social distancing guidelines are making it harder than ever.    Today we’ll share three easy ways to remotely share color data so you can achieve your color goals without shipping physical samples or making onsite visits. The Benefits of Digit...

Our customers who are now working remotely need to be aware that changing a small variable – such as approving color from home under a different light source, or emailing specifications instead of sending a physical sample – can introduce color issues that risk creating a larger color problem. The first and most critical stage to color control is accurate color communication. These resources will help you get started. The Importance of Color Communication Blog | Many color...

Spectrophotometers (“spectros” for short) are color measurement devices used to capture and evaluate color. As part of a color control program, brand owners and designers use them to specify and communicate color, and manufacturers use them to monitor color accuracy throughout production. Spectrophotometers can measure just about anything, including liquids, plastics, paper, metal and fabrics, and help ensure that color remains consistent from conception to delivery.   &nb...

Phone and computer screens are the window into the digital world of color, but if you are approving colors via email or text you need to be aware of the limitations.  For starters, each of your devices relies on a different color model to display color. Input devices – your camera and monitor – use the additive color model to display color. They start with darkness and add red, green, and blue light to create a spectrum of colors. Printers, on the other hand, use the s...

Does your quality control program include visual evaluation? Lighting plays a huge role in how we perceive color. It can help you verify whether the color of your product is acceptable and ensure it remains accurate in every possible lighting condition after purchase.     Many of our customers are finding visual evaluation to be even more important as they transition color reviews and approvals to a different location, such as in the home office or to another remote environmen...